Art Class
by Tricia1985
Summary: A brief look at Carrie's day to day life at Ewen High before the prom massacre. Art class with Sue Snell. All rights belong to their respective creators (Mr King etc).


_Art Class_

_Senior Year – Fall, 201-_

_Carrie and Sue_

School was an ordeal. There was no other way to put it. Although Carrie was an intelligent and hard working student, none of her classmates ever really took her seriously. Even worse, more than a few of her teachers had written her off as a nuisance. Carrie was rarely the direct cause of any particular problem herself, but fair amount of disruption and general headaches could be traced back to her. Carrie knew that it was a hassle to have to stop class to reprimand someone for putting something in her hair, or making an obnoxious comment – never mind the eye rolling and overly dramatic sighing. She felt absolutely terrible about it but there was little she could do herself. Helen Shyres had dubbed it the "Carrie Threshold"; the point at which a well meaning teacher finally grows so sick and tired of defending poor downtrodden Carrie White that he or she literally throws up their hands in despair. After all, a lost cause is a lost cause and they were paid to teach, not to be guardian angels. The two most recent examples of this phenomenon were Mr. Fromm, Carrie's English teacher and Mr. McGovern (or _Judas_, as Momma preferred to call him), her twelfth period Social Studies teacher. Speculation swirled about how long it would be before Ms. Desjardin, the replacement girls' gym teacher, reached that threshold.

Carrie's fifth period art class was an exception. It would be a stretch to say that she got along with the other kids who attended, but at least they didn't actively torment her. Most of them simply ignored her, which wasn't so bad considering what her fourth period math class was like. Sue Snell and Erika Gogan were among these students, but they generally left Carrie alone. She was A-OK with being left alone. As a bonus, her teacher Mrs. Rennie, seemed to actually like Carrie - at least a little bit. Carrie loved art – particularly drawing, so she was almost elated when Mrs. Rennie stated that they were to submit a sketchbook every two weeks with at least 14 drawings (no thumbnail sketches, thank you very much).

Carrie's faith was a vital part of her life (Momma wouldn't have it any other way) and a great deal of her work reflected that. She was particularly fond of angels and lambs, and had a knack for landscapes. Mrs. Rennie had given her A's twice before when she submitted her book – and more importantly to Carrie, actually took time to write out comments and compliments. Carrie was happy and things really didn't seem so awful during that period. In fact, the only problem she was faced with was what to draw next.

Inspiration struck Carrie when she saw Sue walk into class. She was wearing a white cardigan and her wavy blonde hair seemed to cascade over her shoulders. The light hit her in such a way that she almost seemed ethereal – like a seraph out of an illuminated manuscript. Carrie proceeded to spend most of the period furtively sketching Sue, being careful to look away whenever either Sue or Erika happened to glance in her general direction. She worked furiously – shading, erasing and darkening until she felt she had done all she could do. Carrie's efforts hadn't gone unnoticed, and Erika Gogan had caught her staring and, her curiosity having been piqued, decided to investigate. Carrie was so engrossed in her efforts that she hadn't noticed that Erika had gotten up and walked over to her. She was watching Carrie silently, leaning slightly over her shoulder.

"That's so cute!" Erika said.

"Hey Sue! I think you should have a look at this."

Carrie, having been deep in concentration, was startled and let out a tiny, almost adorable yelp. Across the room, a coffee can filled with paintbrushes toppled noisily into the sink. Mrs. Rennie, who had been grading assignments another class, looked up in time to see Carrie attempt to close her sketchbook. She wasn't fast enough, and Erika managed to snatch it out of her hands. For a moment, Mrs. Rennie considered reprimanding Erika, but decided that what was happening looked innocent enough. She mentally shrugged her shoulders and went back to work.

Carrie looked on in horror as Erika handed her book over to Sue and leaned in to whisper something inaudible to her. Carrie clenched her fists so tightly that her nails, though not terribly long, dug painfully into her palms. Her face had turned scarlet with embarrassment. Sue flipped through the sketchbook briefly before Erika directed her attention to Carrie's most recent work. It was a fair-haired angel draped in flowing robes. Its tawny wings were fully spread as though it were about to leap off of the page and take flight. In its hands it held a sword and a trumpet. It was beautifully detailed and Sue stared at it thoughtfully for a moment or two. What was most striking to Sue was the uncanny resemblance the drawing had to her. Erika was right. There was no doubt whatsoever as to who Carrie's model was.

"Wow!" Sue said almost in a whisper. "That's incredible."

Carrie was staring at the ground, her arms folded over her chest. Sue noted mentally that Carrie always assumed that particular stance whenever she was expecting something bad to happen to her. She almost seemed to be waiting for someone to hit her. Sue felt a mixture of envy and pity – she also found it vaguely creepy. How long had Carrie been watching her? Did she have other, perhaps less wholesome sketches of her? She placed the book back on the table. Carrie, who was still avoiding making any sort of eye contact, didn't move to reclaim it.

"I'm flattered!" Sue said. "You have a real talent. I can't believe how realistic it is."

"D-Do you mean it?" Carrie said softly. Her lip was quivering. "I was afraid you'd be angry with me. I know I should have asked first." Erika, who had been watching with a bemused look on her face, whispered something into Sue's ear. Sue gave a Erika a somewhat surprised look and turned towards Carrie.

"I'm not angry." Sue said evenly. "Not at all." Carrie seemed to relax slightly. Her heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute and she sensed a headache coming on. Sue took a deep breath before continuing. Sue's stomach clenched. She didn't relish what she was about to say, but felt she had no choice in the matter. She had to make her feelings clear.

"I'm not angry and I meant what I said about it being beautiful." Sue said. A slight, tentative smile seemed to cross Carrie's lips as that guilty feeling gnawed away Sue's insides.

"I want you to do me a favor." Sue said quietly and Carrie nodded. "I never _ever _want you to draw me again. I don't want to find out about you even contemplating drawing me. Do you understand?"

Carrie looked crushed. Her smile was long gone and she once again was staring at her feet. Sue felt ill. She didn't want to hurt Carrie's feelings, but she had to say something. Didn't she? Sue glanced over to Erika and saw her nodding in approval. The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Sue and Erika walked back to their seats at the other end of the room and collected their things.

Carrie was completely mortified at this point. She was doing everything within her power not to burst into tears (although seeing her cry wasn't a rare sight around Ewen High). Carrie gathered her things as quickly as she could and made a bee line for the door, slowing only briefly to tear the offending drawing out of her book, crumple it up and deposit it in a nearby trash can. As she was doing so, the same can of brushes that fell into the sink before slid off of the counter and crashed to the ground. Two boys who were standing near them looked at each other and ruefully began pick them up. Carrie didn't notice Mrs. Rennie saying good bye. She turned and headed for her next class, her eyes still cast earthward and the lump in her throat still threatening to turn into a full blown sob.

Sue, who had headed in the opposite direction in the now crowded hallway, stopped and turned in time to see Carrie drop a balled up piece of paper in the trash. She felt like crying, too.

_Notes: I used Erika instead of Ruth because I thought it sounded a bit more modern. I borrowed the name "Rennie" from Under the Dome. I got the idea of Carrie being into art form the "Find Carrie" app. It showed that she had some sort of easel in her room. _


End file.
